American Idea Foundation

Measuring Results, Expanding Opportunity, Improving Lives.

Community Organizations Making a Difference

Video: Corner to Corner promoting entrepreneurship & economic opportunities in Nashville, TN

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By: AIF Staff

Janesville, WI – This morning, the American Idea Foundation released a video showcasing the work being done by Corner to Corner, a community-led non-profit organization that promotes entrepreneurship, economic opportunities, and educational activities in Nashville, TN.

The video focuses on one of Corner to Corner’s most impactful programs, The Academy, a 10-week program providing aspiring business-owners with the skills necessary to plan, start, and grow their own companies. The Academy teaches participants the fundamentals of running a business covering topics like digital marketing, book-keeping, and administration, and also bringing in local subject-matter experts to help expand these future business-owners’ bases of knowledge. Since 2016, The Academy has taught over 500 entrepreneurs and these business owners have generated over $13 million for the local  economy.

Watch the video about Corner to Corner & The Academy here.

In October, American Idea Foundation President and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) visited Corner to Corner to learn more about The Academy, to talk with program participants and graduates about why the approach is impactful, and to discuss how policymakers can help foster entrepreneurship in historically under-capitalized communities. Joining Ryan in the conversation were representatives from the offices of Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Governor Bill Lee (R-TN).

Upon the release of the video and following his visit at Corner to Corner, Ryan said:

“It is impossible to visit Corner to Corner and not be inspired. The Academy is giving these aspiring entrepreneurs the confidence to succeed, the skills to get their businesses up and running, and the network to grow over the long-term. The enthusiasm, the passion, and the creativity possessed by graduates of The Academy was truly awesome to see.

“Corner to Corner has created this ecosystem of entrepreneurship that is community-led and growing with each graduating class of The Academy. The energy around Corner to Corner is infectious and it is clearly having a positive economic impact in Nashville. Students come to The Academy with a dream and Will, Shana, the instructors, and the alumni help make those dreams a reality by giving them the knowledge and assistance necessary to launch well-run businesses.

“The early evidence in support of this program is strong and I am hopeful Corner to Corner’s approach continues to be validated through more research because it is changing lives and creating amazing success stories in the process.”

Corner to Corner was one of five front-line organizations to receive a grant from the American Idea Foundation in 2022 and the American Idea Foundation will continue to provide advice, guidance, and support as Corner to Corner develops their evidence-based approach to expanding entrepreneurship. To learn more about the organization, please visit: https://cornertocorner.org/.

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Release: Video: The transformative impact of Gatekeepers in reducing recidivism in MD

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by: AIF Staff

Janesville, WI – This week, the American Idea Foundation released a video highlighting the amazing work being done by Gatekeepers, a non-profit in Hagerstown, MD.

Led by ex-offenders Bill Gaertner and Keith Roys, Gatekeepers is helping inmates and ex-offenders re-enter and rejoin their communities following interactions with the criminal justice system.

Watch the video about Gatekeepers’ efforts here.

As the video shows, Gatekeepers works with inmates prior to their release. Their office is often the first stop for inmates upon leaving correctional facilities and their staff continues working with many of these individuals for years after. Gatekeepers helps these people build productive lives one day at a time.

To do this effectively, Gatekeepers created a formal program called The Business of Living, which is now being used in prisons and jails across the country.

The Business of Living program assists current and former inmates chart pathways to success by creating a comprehensive re-entry plan upon their release from incarceration. It has spiritual, vocational, educational, and community-based components that are customized to the individual. If an individual needs medical or rehabilitation services, Gatekeepers helps them map out how to access them. If an individual wants to pursue employment or rebuild ties with their family members, Gatekeepers helps them navigate it. Through the Business of Living program, Gatekeepers walks with these individuals step-by-step and assists them in building productive lives.

In early October, American Idea Foundation President Paul Ryan stopped by Gatekeepers for a roundtable discussion with graduates of the Business of Living program, community partners, Congressman David Trone (D-MD), and state and local officials, all of whom believe in the power of Gatekeepers’ hands-on approach. Reporting on the visit, the Herald Mail of Hagerstown noted: 

Through his foundation, Paul Ryan scours the nation, looking for effective programs that help people escape poverty. He thinks he’s found one in Hagerstown.

Ryan met with people in the Gatekeepers program during a forum and a luncheon Monday at the Horizon Goodwill facility on North Prospect Street. He was joined by U.S. Rep. David Trone, a Democrat who is running for reelection for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District; Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill, several representatives of city and county government, local business leaders and people who have returned to the community after spending time behind bars….

Gatekeepers is something of a clearing house for people who have spent time behind bars. It focuses on re-entry and reducing rates of reoffending and recidivism.

Among other things, Gatekeepers has developed what Gaertner has dubbed the “Business of Living” program. It’s a process designed to help formerly incarcerated people get on their feet and pursue their goals.  That program is taught inside Roxbury Correctional Institution and the Maryland Correctional Training Center south of Hagerstown as well as the Washington County Detention Center and the county Day Reporting Center.

Gatekeepers is currently working with Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities to conduct a long-term study measuring the effectiveness of their approach in reducing recidivism. They are among a half-dozen front-line organizations to receive a grant from the American Idea Foundation in 2022 and the American Idea Foundation will continue to provide advice, guidance, and support as Gatekeepers develops their evidence-based approach to reducing recidivism.

To learn more about the organization, please visit: https://www.gatekeepersmd.org/.

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Herald-Mail: The Business of Living: Former House Speaker Ryan supports program in Washington County

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Date: October 13, 2022

This article from the Hagerstown Herald-Mail highlights a recent site-visit former House Speaker Paul Ryan did to Gatekeepers, a recidivism reduction program based in Maryland. Gatekeepers is working to help people reacclimate to their community and transform their lives following interactions with the criminal justice system.

The visit was part of the American Idea Foundation’s ongoing efforts to validate and scale evidence-based poverty fighting programs. Gatekeepers has recently partnered with the University of Notre Dame to quantifiably evaluate the program’s impact. They’re doing amazing work with the help of the Hagerstown community and Paul was grateful to learn more about the Business of Living program.

A local newscast on the visit is also available here. Excerpts of the full article, which is accessible here, follow.

The Herald-Mail: The Business of Living: Former House Speaker Ryan supports program in Washington County

By: Mike Lewis

Through his foundation, Paul Ryan scours the nation, looking for effective programs that help people escape poverty.

He thinks he’s found one in Hagerstown.

“I am here for just a basic reason, to bring praise to what Bill (Gaertner, executive director of Gatekeepers) and all the folks at Gatekeepers have done and to bring some money to make sure that Gatekeepers stays successful,” Ryan said during his visit to Hagerstown this week.

“I’m just here to see how Gatekeepers works and why it’s so successful at getting people to stay out of prison once they’ve returned to the community,” Ryan said before the luncheon.

Ryan met with people in the Gatekeepers program during a forum and a luncheon Monday at the Horizon Goodwill facility on North Prospect Street. He was joined by U.S. Rep. David Trone, a Democrat who is running for reelection for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District; Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill, several representatives of city and county government, local business leaders and people who have returned to the community after spending time behind bars.

After retiring from politics, Ryan started the American Idea Foundation. Its goal is to invest in evidence-based programs that fight poverty and promote upward mobility, then replicate them around the nation. 

What is the ‘Business of Living’ program?

Gatekeepers is something of a clearing house for people who have spent time behind bars. It focuses on re-entry and reducing rates of reoffending and recidivism.

Among other things, Gatekeepers has developed what Gaertner has dubbed the “Business of Living” program. It’s a process designed to help formerly incarcerated people get on their feet and pursue their goals.

That program is taught inside Roxbury Correctional Institution and the Maryland Correctional Training Center south of Hagerstown as well as the Washington County Detention Center and the county Day Reporting Center. 

Since mid-March, a digital version of the Gatekeepers Business of Living program, with videos, has been put onto tablets that are inside more than 250 correctional facilities around the nation. At the end of September, more than 1,200 inmates have completed the tablet version of the program, according to statistics from Gatekeepers.

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Now the organization is working with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame to develop evidence-based data for Gatekeepers. A multi-year study will examine the Business of Living program’s impact on the local recidivism rate.

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Gatekeepers was one of five nonprofits in the country to receive financial and strategic support from the American Idea Foundation this year, according a news release the organization issued in September.

The release did not disclose the amounts of the grants.

The others are Corner to Corner in Nashville, Tenn; Child First in Connecticut and North Carolina; Merit America, a national nonprofit; and The Joseph Project in Milwaukee.

“With polarization, partisanship, and cynicism on the rise in America, we have an obligation to strengthen civil society and support organizations that are making a tangible difference in people’s lives,” Ryan said in the release.

He said the grants “will help create bodies of evidence and grow bodies of evidence. They will promote innovative strategies and solutions with track records of success. And hopefully, they will take some of the politics out of fighting poverty.”